Happy, Beautiful, Relaxed

People ask me quite often, "What are you doing?" since they haven't seen me in a hot minute and FB can only reveal so much.  My response?  Whatever I want :)

And it's true!  I am literally doing whatever I want each day this month since I'm taking the time off from my full-time job.  Man, I love it.  I can sleep in if I want, I can go to bed late if I want, I can eat dessert first if I want, I can sleep naked if I want, I can read if I want, I can dance and listen to music all day if I want, I can craft it up if I want...  You get the picture.

I was slightly hesitant about how my time at home would look, as in I didn't know if it would be easy to pick up where I left off in a sense.  Thankfully, it has been very easy and I'm even fitting in things or people I hadn't previously.  I picked back up outings with friends, a running schedule, breaking it on the dance floor, attending small group, and more.  I continue to go to church, have fun in general, and do PT for my knee.  I'm grateful that I've been able to add visiting my nephew, decorating my apartment, and meeting weekly with a friend to discuss a book/Bible study while home.

I've even been able to visit my old work stomping grounds.  It was a great time to see so many wonderful faces of those who love and miss me!  After the visit, one of my co-workers said I looked happy, beautiful, and relaxed.  I appreciate her bringing that to light for many reasons but, to keep it simple, I'll just say that the truth will always shine through.

As you can see, I stay fairly busy.  I try to be productive and set expectations for myself each day.  I am not a complete bump on a log, though I'm not opposed to taking some days at a slower pace, possibly only getting around 3 things checked off the ever-changing "to-do" list.

I don't mind because I think that getting at least my top 3 things done that day then it has been a good day.  Besides, my day is filled with other good things beyond accomplishing that list.  There are unspoken and unwritten goals, such as growing and learning on a very personal level, stimulating my brain, and being flexible for what might pop up.

Being flexible is a learned behavior that has served me well.  I'm not perfect at it -- I do love a plan.  Though I believe it, among other traits, are essential in life.  I've had some mornings filled with completing paperwork for my next work assignment as well as for Army.  That wasn't planned, but it gets done and other things get shifted about.

That shifting is a sort of brain exercise, yet what I was referring to above was my want to continue to learn about new things and sharpen what I may already know.  I've listened to some podcasts, sermons, and friends who are in completely different work fields than myself.  It's all quite fascinating!  Who knew there was so many cool facts about gold or that a young woman didn't exist or that behavior analysis could be so beneficial for autistic children and their families or that John Piper talked at Google claiming God is jealous yet isn't egotistical?  Not going to lie.  I feel a little smarter, a bit more cultured, and definitely less hermit-like after listening to that kind of stuff, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that!

You know why it's not wrong?  Cuz I can do what I want!  But seriously, it is an effort to keep learning.  However, I also want to grow personally and spiritually, which is so incredibly multi-faceted!  I'll just state a couple things I'm doing in this vein:

1) continuing to connect with lovely friends who know me and keep me accountable -- one good example is with navigating boy-world, for which I gain wisdom and counsel from said friends amongst whom I can verbally process my standards for who I date and ask for prayer to stick to those standards while also better deciphering my thoughts and feelings in order to continue a relationship, end it, or simply take a step back to observe.

2) reading books to work through struggles and to equip myself for the future -- I'm working through "The Armor of God" study with a friend.  So good.  I highly recommend it!  I am also reading a very enlightening book on happiness, and I hope to pick up my thick nutrition book to refresh and dive into another book I just borrowed.

So much has happened and there is so much more I want to do!  So, in the near future I will hopefully soak up all the time I can with friends before I'm gone again, read and read some more, listen intently to sermons and the like, put the finishing touches on my "so much personality" place, visit my nephew a zillion more times, bake deliciousness, just do as I wish...